Audit: Elderly office needs stronger leadership

BATON ROUGE - Gov. Bobby Jindal fired the head of his Office of Elderly Affairs in 2012 and never named another executive director. A new audit says that lack of leadership has lessened the effectiveness of the agency's mission to help the elderly.

In a review released Monday, the Legislative Auditor's Office says the agency's funding formula that sends state and federal money to local councils on aging doesn't determine where needs are greatest.

The audit says the Office of Elderly Affairs doesn't use demographic and waiting list data to target spending like other states do, and doesn't consistently track the services it funds.

The Jindal administration defended its formula, saying it was approved by federal officials, but says it will work more closely with parish councils on aging to monitor spending.